Knitted hosiery



A. LANDRY. KNITTED HOSIEFIY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I2 I919.

Patented Apr. 18, 1922.

lmwemiow UNITED S ATE PATENT- OFFICE.

ALDEI LANDRY, or GENTBAL'FALLS. mom ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO HEMIPHILL com- PANY, 01'. CENTRAL FALLS, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION KNITTED HOSIERY.

OF MASSACHUSETTS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat t d A 18, 1922.

Application filed March 12, 1919. Serial No. 282,077.

To all whom it niay 0071106755 Be it known that I, ALDEI'LaNnRx, a citi- 'zen of the United States, and a resident of Central Falls, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have inventedan Improvement in Knitted Hosiery, of which the following description,in connection with the. accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawlngs representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in knitted hosiery and to the method of forming the same. j The invention contemplates the' production of an economical, sanitary stocking of neat appearance and in'which substantially all points .or areas that are sub ected to excessive or more" than ordinary wear are formed from specialyarns of heavier or more durable character than those composing the less important parts thereof.

he invention consists in the combination and. arrangement of the various sections or areas of the stocking and in a mode of forming the same, whereby the above ObJGCtS and other objects hereinafter appearing may be attained as set forth in the following specifi- I cation and claims.

Referring to the drawings- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stocking embodying the preferred characteristics of mv invention including a high splice so-called.

Fig. 2 is a detail side elevation of the heel portion of a stocking in which the h gh splice has been omitted.

The invention has to do more particularly with the formation of the heel and adjacent portions of the stocking and, although in the accompanying drawings I showv what Ibeli'eve to be the most approved construction, it is, however, to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited totheforms shown. I

In the ordinary type of stocking wherein a high splice is employed in connection w1th what may be termed a sanitary foot, 1. e., a foot formed partially or entirely of undyed or light colored yarn, the high splice is sometimes extended to the point in the heel below the ankle (and by the term ankle, in the present case, I mean the beginning of the narrowing courses which form the heel pocket) at which point juncture is made with the yarn from which the foot is formed.

particularly pointed out in the.

- structed of a 'of producing the substantially By this method the light colored yarn of the foot w1ll never be exposed above the top of even the lowest cut shoe.

In hlgh grade hosiery and especially in hoslery constructed of silk the area above the heel is reinforced or provided with a hlgh splice, so-called, that is, it is conplurality of yarns or of a much heav er yarn than that from which the other portions of the leg of the stocking are formed and, as the greater portion of this area is often exposed to view, it must be made of yarn similar in nature to that formlng the leg of the stocking so that the cost stocking must be materially increased.

It is the purpose of this invention to reduce the cost of producing stockings of the nature set forth by effecting a material saving in the yarn constituting said high splice.

This saving I preferably effect by constructing the high splice of aheavier grade of silk from the top thereof to the ankle of the stocking at which point the heavy silk is withdrawn and a heavy mercerized yarn of the same weight as that constituting said high splice, is substituted and from this yarn'that portion of the heel is formed which extends from the ankle of the stocking to a point far enough below said ankle to cover all'areas of the heel likely to show above the top of the shoe. The section formed of said mercerized yarn is essentially of the same color as the high splice area and the high splice area is of the same color as the leg of the stocking. For instance, assuming that the stocking is made of black yarn with white foot, the black yarn will be employed from the top 1 of said stocking throughout the tubular leg portion 2 thereof to the point in the heel. below the ankle heretofore referred to and from said point white or undyed yarn will be employed either throughout the entire area of the foot. of said stocking or in certain sections thereof, such as at the heel and toe portions of said stocking.

It is, however, to be distinctly understood that the yarns employed in the construction of the formation of the stocking may beof any suitable character even to the extent of being in so far as color is concerned all alike invention, however, is in no wise limited in this respect.

In the production of the stocking embodying my invention, I preferably though notnecessarily, begin the knitting at 1 and for the purpose of contrast will assume that the yarn to be used in this operation is black. We will further assume that the stocking is to be knitted upon a knitting machine of the type known as a circular knitting machine and in which type the needle cylinder is both rotaryand rotary-reciprocatory, as is customary in stocking knitting machines in general use at the present time.

Beginning at the top 1 of the stocking the needle cylinder is rotated to produce the tubular leg 2 in the usual manner and from black or dark colored yarn to the top line 3 of the high splice.

As one of the essential advantages of the invention is to effect economy in construction, the formation of the stocking from the top of the high splice to the toe thereof is effected through the rotary reciprocatory movements of the needle cylinder to produce a split fabric, that is, a fabric in which the front and rear sections are composed of different yarns thereby eliminating the floating yarns, so-called, requiring an extra amount of very careful work in removing same, to

' say nothing of the large amount of yarn wasted in such operation.

To accomplish the desired results the yarn from which the tubular leg 2 is constructed will be withdrawn at 3 and the motion of the needle cylinder will be changed from rotary to rotary reciprocatory.

The knittlng cams which act upon the needles to knit the tubular portion 2 will now be used to act only upon approximately one half of the circular series of needles to effect the knitting of the high splice 4 preferably with heavy silk yarn substituted for the yarn previously employed down to the line'3; said heavy yarn being preferably of the same color as the yarn previously used.

The lower front portion 5 of the leg 2 is preferably to be knitted simultaneously with the high splice 4 and in order to accomplish this the remaining half of the series of needles upon which the tubular leg'portion was previously formed will be actuated by a secondary set of knitting cams arranged to operate only upon-said remaining needles and as the yarn in the referred construction of the stocking is at t is point of the same color and weight as that forming the leg portion 2, a secondary yarn guide is preferably employed to present the yarn to the needles acted u n by the said secondary knitting cams.

of fabric will be constructed, one section, thatis the section 5, will be composed of yarn substantially identical in character with'the yarn of the leg 2 while the yarn of y this means two sections the other section 4 will be of the much heavier grade but preferably of the same color as the yarn of the leg, said sections of fabric consisting of parallel courses united at opposite sides of the leg of said stocking in a seam 6 com osed of the terminalloops of the fabric sections. These operations continue until the ankle 7 of the stocking, or a point adjacent thereto, is reached at which point the usual heel narrowing and widening operations are begun to produce the usual heel pocket, and during which operations the series of needles upon which the section 5 of the stocking has been formed and which are usually termed instep needles, are withdrawn from action and the knitting continues on the needles upon which the high splice 4 was knitted.

Previous to the starting of the narrowing process of said heel at the ankle point 7 the heavy silk yarn which forms said high splice is preferably withdrawn and in its place a heavy mercerized yarn of like weight and.

color as said silk yarn is used. This yarn follows a course from the point 7 or ankle at one side of the foot along the broken line 8- to the point of the ankle at the opposite side of the foot, said course being substantially parallel with the course 3 at the top of the high splice.

From this line on the heavy mercerized yarn is employed until a point is reached in the narrowing operation of the heel preferably as indicated at 9 which constitutes the lower extremity of a so-called drop heel and includes a plurality, preferably a majority of the heel narowing courses and low enough to eliminate all possibility of the white foot of the stocking from showing above the top of the shoe, said line being preferably co-incident with one of the minor.

narrowing courses of the heel, or in. other words, said line terminates nearerfthe last narrowing course of the heel at 10 than it does to the ankle 7. When this line' is reached the heavy black mercerized yarn is withdrawn from the needles when the foot is to be white or formed from undyed yarn and the light colored or white mercerized yarn of substantiallythe same" weight and character is substituted therefor and knit into the heel for the completion of the nar- 'of the foot 11 and into the toe 12 or, I may extend it only a short distance beyond the ankle 7 as, for instance, to a line 13 indicating the extent of the heel area whichis exposed to the greatest amount of wear. Upon the'completion of the widening of said heel, that is, when the point 7 is reached, the

. atthe toe where the usual inste needles are again thrown into action and knitting continues thereon simultane- 'ously with the knitting of the foot to form the seam 14 similar to the seam 6; said seam 14 extending from the ankle 7 to a point 15 narrowing operation begins. When the line 13 is reached in the kmtting of the foot, an unreinforced mercerized yarn, i. e., one of lighter weight or comprising fewer-yarns, but similar in color to that forming the heel of the stock ing may be substituted for said heavy mercerized yarn and knitting therewith continued to any desired point in the region of the toe such, for instance, as the line 16 at which point the heavy .mercerized yarn may again be supplied to the needles to effect the knitting of the toe 12 which is formed by the usual narrowing and widening operations.

The sections of fabric comprising the high splice 4, the lower front portion of the leg and the instep thereof, the section of the heel from the line 8 to the line 9, the remainder of the heel through the line 9 to the line 13, the arch portion of the foot extending from the line 13 or the line 16 to the toe 12, are all preferably composed of partial courses formed of distinct yarns of any desired weight, color or quality; each being designed so as to most economically withstand the particular degree of wear to which it is to be subjected and to eliminate all unnecessary expense in the production thereof. Furthermore, said stocking will be so formed that the several areas will be capable of resisting to a substantially equal degree the wear to which they are exposed in order that the life of the several areas may be of substantially equal length, no one section thereof wearing out before the other sections of the stocking.

To reiterate, the section of the stocking including the high splice or reinforced ankle portion 4, and that portion 5 of the leg adjacent to but in front of said high splice and which has been'designated as the lower front leg portion, preferably compose What is called split fabric. That is, these areas are formed from distinct yarns in two sections which are united preferably at opposite sides in seams 6, 6 composed ofthe terminal loops of said fabric sections 4 and 5. This method of knitting the high splice effects a consider able saving-in yarn by omitting the floating yarns which are always present when the high splice is formed by the interkni-tting of one or more extra yarns during the formation by rotary knitting of the front and back lower leg portions. Also there will be a saving in labor as there will be no floating yarns to be removed subsequent to theknitting of the stocking.

Referring to Fig. 2, I have illustrated a stocking constructed substantially as hereinbefore described with the exception that the high splice 4 is omitted. In this form the leg portion 2 is of tubular formation down to the point 7' of the ankle at which point the narrowing of the heel takes" place and when this point is reached a adjoins said heavy yarn from being exposed to View. I

The remaining portions of the heel, that is, from the line 9 to the end 10' of the narrowing courses and through the widening courses beyond, the heel may be formed of a white or lighter colored yarn preferably of the same weight as that of the area between the lines 8' and 9', thus insuring the desired amount of wear at the heel of the stocking I without incurring any additional expense in the construction thereof which would be incurred if the silk yarn from which the leg portion 2 is formed, were extended into the heel to the line 9. The other sections of'the stocking may be formed, if desired, in accordance with any of the methods hereinbefore described.

Having thus. described one illustrative embodiment of my invention, I desire it to be understood that although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic and de scriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set' forth in the following claims:

1. A knitted stocking having the upper and lower portions of the foot composed of yarns of contrasting colors, the dividing line of said yarns passing through the nominal ankle of a high splice extending substantially below the nominal ankle of the stocking, a portion of said high splice below said nominal ankle being composed of separate yarn, like in color but unlike in character to the yarn of said high splice above said nominal ankle.- v

2. A knitted stocking having the upper and lower portions of the foot composed of yarns of contrasting colors, the dividing line of said yarns passing through the nominal ankle of a high splice area terminating, below the nominal ankle point on a line coincident with a minor heel narrowing course, the portion of said high splice below said nominal ankle being composed of yarn like in color but unlike in character to the yarn of the leg portion and of said high splice above said nominal ankle.

3. A knitted stocking having the upper and lower portions of the foot composed of different yarns of contrasting colors, the dividing line of said yarns passing through the 25 Y jacent to the nominal ankle of said stocking the stocking,

ing from a line approximating the narrowing course of the heel pocket, the terminal loops of which interknit with the last wid ening course of said stocking, to a line coin- .cident with a minor narrowing course of said heel pocket, the yarn composing said reenforced area being like in color but unlike in character to that composing the leg ortions of said stocking.

4. A knitted sanitary stocking having the upper portion of the foot composed of dyed yarn and the lower portions thereof composed of undyed yarn, the dividing line of said yarns passing through the ankle, a heel pocket composed of an equal number of narrowing and Widening courses, a plurality being composed of a separate yarn similar in character but contrasting in color with the yarn of the remaining portion of said heel.

5. That method of forming a knitted sanitarv stocking which includes the formation in the vicinity of the heel from distinct yarn of a high splice area which terminates adand in forming as a continuation of said high splice area a reenforced area composed of yarn unlike in character but alike in color to that of the first mentioned reenforced area, said last mentioned area'extending a substantial distance below said ankle, and then in forming the upper and lower foot portions from different yarns of contrasting colors, the dividing line thereof passing through said nominal ankle.

' 6. That method of forming a knitted stocking which consists in effecting the knitting of the leg from dyed yarn to a point substantially above the nominal ankle of then in knitting into the leg a reenforced area extending to the nominal ankle, then in effecting the knitting of a plurality of heel narrowing courses froma different yarn of the same color as that of r the leg, then in knitting the remaining narrowing courses of said heel and the widening courses thereof from an undyed yarn dif- 1 fering in character from that of the reenforced area above said ankle, and then In knitting the lower and upper portions of the nominal of narrowing courses thereof foot of different yarns, the dividing line of said yarns passlng through the nominal ankle, the yarn of the upper foot portion being like in colorto that of the leg and the yarn of the lower foot portion being of undyed yarn.

7 The method of forming a knitted stockin which consists in effecting, by rotary knitting, the formation of the leg to a point substantially above the nominal ankle of the stocking; then in effecting by. reciprocatory knitting and from different yarns, the formation of two sections of fabric consisting respectively of the lower front leg portion and a high splice united in a seam, the yarns composing said sections being of the same color, the latter section extending substantially to the nominal ankle, then in knitting a plurality of heel narrowing courses from a different yarn or yarnslike in color but unlike in character to the yarn of said high splice, then in knitting the remaining narrowing courses and the widening courses of the heel of a different yarn contrasting in color with the yarn of said plurality of heel narrowing courses and then in knitting the lower and upper foot portions of different yarns, thedividing line of said yarns passing through the nominal ankle, the yarns composing said lower foot portion contrasting in color with the yarn composing said upper foot portion.

8. The method of forming knitted hosiery which consists in forming the leg and instep portions from dyed silk yarn and in forming- 1 of the heel narrowing courses of a mercerlike in weight and ized yarn substantially and then color to the yarn of said high splice,

in knitting the upper and lower foot por- 'tions of dyed silk yarn cerized yarn respectively,

through the nominal and undyed merthe dividing line of said yarns passing ankle.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ALDEI' LANDRY. 

